Mt. Lebanon prepared for rematch against Central Catholic
Mike Collodi says that he is not mad that people think his Mt. Lebanon football team (5-5) is a decided underdog against Central Catholic (9-1) in a WPIAL Class 6A semifinal game set for 7 p.m. Nov. 10 at Fox Chapel. After all, when the two teams met in conference action back on Sept. 15, the Vikings blanked the Blue Devils, 49-0.
“There are upsets,” Collodi said. “That’s why they play the game.”
Collodi also reminds doubters about Class 5A teams such as Gateway and Pine-Richland. In the season opener back on Aug. 25, Lebo toppled the then top-ranked Gators, 28-7, and on Oct. 6, the Rams handed the Vikings their only loss of the season, 26-19.
“The doubters were proved wrong,” Collodi said. “We’re feeding off that and using that as an example for our kids.”
Since losing to Canon-McMillan, 41-28, on the last day of the regular season, the Blue Devils have had two weeks to prepare for their rematch with Central Catholic, which is the third-ranked team in the state and boasts a plethora of major Division I recruits.
“Any time you are practicing and playing in November it’s a good thing,” Collodi said. “It’s great and it’s exciting.
“Central Catholic though is definitely one of the best teams in the state and we will take advantage of all the preparation time we have and get our guys healthy again.”
In midseason, the Blue Devils were struck with the injury bug and, as a result, suffered some of its bigger losses – 42-27 to arch rival Upper St. Clair; North Allegheny, 43-7, and Peters Township, 42-0, which is the No. 1 team in Class 5A.
Collodi is thrilled that his team will be almost at full strength against the Vikings.
“It’s still going to be very challenging,” he added.
Beating the Vikings will take a near-perfect performance. It will also take an approach similar to the one Pine-Richland adopted when it rushed Ethan Pillar 56 times for 297 yards and three touchdowns.
“First of off, against Central Catholic, you have to play mistake-free football,” Collodi said. “We have to try and create mistakes and turnovers and give us multiple opportunities to score.
“We have to also control the clock because they are a quick-strike team. Pine-Richland neutralized that by controlling the clock and the ground game.”
The Blue Devils rely upon Fred LaSota to tote the football on most occasions. He is the leading rusher with nearly 500 yards on 101 carries. He is also the team’s leading scorer with six touchdowns.
Jimmy Green is also a capable back while Noah Schaerli has been the top target for Michael Malone. Green rushed for a score against the Big Macs while Schaerli caught a 41-yard TD pass from Malone. Malone also connected with Ezra Heidenreich and AJ Hyland tacked on a rushing score.
“The first time we played them, we gave up a lot of big plays,” Collodi said. “We need to limit those and we need to tackle better as well as control the clock. If we can do that, I’ll be happy. We’ll be in the game.”